The Emperor (Dark Verse, #3)

by RuNyx

“How can you say that?”

“The paintings,”

“I studied them in school. Seeing them all together, it’s all wrong. Was her death odd? Especially that she would kill herself with her child in the room?”

“Could it be that she didn’t slit her own wrists, Dante?”

“Or if she did, something drove her to it? Could it be that she was murdered?”

“Dreams about mom,” Damien spoke, the tapping of the pencil on wood constant in the background. “I don’t have any memory of her but I always see this dream of this man holding me and mom crying and cutting herself and so much blood, and I wake up feeling really scared. Dr. Sanders said it could be trauma from what happened to her and I should talk to you about it, because in the dream sometimes you pick me up and get me out. You’re my hero.”

she was good for Dante. Sleeping with her in his arms every night, waking up to her flush against him, knowing there was no need to hide his love for her had been the biggest, most beautiful change in his life. Some mornings, he woke up early, just looking at the woman he had wanted for years, unable to believe he had her.

‘Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!’

He liked her in his shirts.

He put the scraper down as she entered the room, hitting pause on his phone to stop the book, and pulled her forward between his legs. Unbuttoning his shirt leisurely, keeping their gazes locked, he saw her pupils widen in the dark green orbs, her breathing picking up. She was horny, and she’d come to him.

Dante parted the sides of the shirt, breaking their gazes to look at the little bump on her belly, stretching the scars on the sides of her stomach over her skin, rounding from the edge of her panties, and it hit him again. That was his warrior child, inside his warrior woman. Cupping the bump with both hands, the size still small enough that it fit the span of his fingers, Dante smeared the wet clay over her skin, marking both her and their child. He pressed his lips to her tummy, feeling her hands come to his hair.

“You’re going to be the most adored little princess in this whole world,”

he murmured softly to his baby, still not knowing if it was a girl or a boy technically, but knowing i...

“Daddy already loves you...

“Daddy D...

Amara murmured in the voice he lo...

“I like the sound ...

“Be car...

he looked up at her breasts, feeling their heavin...

“It’ll take me a second to make...

Her nipples pebbled, the visual enough to send blood rushing to his cock, constrained in his jeans. Fuck, he loved how her body responded to his words, his voice, his everything. It made him feel like the luckiest bastard on the planet. Without another word, he took some wet clay on the side in his hands, smearing a thin layer of it over her breasts. He knew the cold clay would stimulate her, but it would be the immediate drying that would prickle her skin, make her nerves tingle everywhere it was spread. Her quick intake of breath told him the coolness had hit her. Dante held back, watching, mesmerized as the thin layer dried over her peaked nipples, heaving with her little gasps. He stood up, pushing his shirt over her shoulders, letting it pool around her bare feet, leaving her clad in simple black cotton panties. The light from the rising sun hit her naked body, illuminating he...

“I’m going to stand behind y...

he leaned down to whisper in her ear, knowing it triggered her sometimes. She nodded, her eyes closed, feeling his hands upon her flesh. Fuck, she was perfect. He circled behind her, looking at the skin on her back, three thin strips of acid-burned flesh scarred diagonally across one hip to one blade. She probably didn’t realize he had matched the structure of his back dragon tattoo to match her back scars, from one hip to one shoulder. If anyone looked at their naked backs together, they would see symmetry—a dragon breathing fire...

“Da...

she whispered, a tremor going down her spine, the vibration right under his fingers, and he continued to spread the clay all over, watching the layers dry, the scars immortalized in them. Scooping more clay, he pressed up against her back, feeling the wetness smear over his chest, and spread his fingers over her stomach, ensconcing her bump generously with the argil, before moving it back up over her breasts. He plucked at her nipples, kissing the side of her neck, and felt her arch in his hands, her ass pushing into his hard cock. He pushed back, nestling himself between her cheeks over layers of their clothing, and her breathing stuttered. His Amara was a breather. She moaned occasionally, screamed rarely because of her damaged vocal cords, and spoke sometimes, demanding his attention in the middle of sex. But she breathed—soft, slow, hard, fast, short, long, and so on. Dante had learned her breaths to learn her responses and anticipate her needs. He had spent years tracking the changes in them,...

“Can you come just like this, ...

he whispered into her neck, pressing his cock into her ass as sh...

“Ple...

she begged softly, her breasts heaving in his palms, her head falling back over his shoulder, her hands coming to wrap around his neck, thrusting her heavy tits higher. Dante sucked on her neck, taking both handfuls of her stunning breasts and squeezing them, before plucking her nipples again, extending th...

“Oh god, ...

she mewled, her lips quivering as he continued his ministrations, humping her ass, pinching and pulling her nipples, and sucking her neck. Her breath got shorter and shorter, her panting loud in the silent room surrounded by his sculptures, and Dante knew she was close. Opening his mouth, he nipped at the side of her neck, before biting down on her skin, hard enough to give her a hickey, and pinching her nipples hard. She exploded, her mouth opening in a silent scream as her legs gave out, her weight supported by his hands on her breasts. That was the first time she’d come just from stimulation above the waist and Dante felt good. There was nothing that fulfilled him more than giving this woman pleasure. It was when he took her to the stars that he felt most powerful, his own need secondary to taking her there, through any means necessary. Though nothing turned him on more than eating her pussy. He turned her to face him and watched as she came back to herself—a vision of a woman smeared in his clay and ...

“You’re my magnum opu...

he told her, pressing his forehead against hers, a move that always brought the turmo...

“And I am your humble...

“...

she whispered, her words falling agai...

“You are my e...

He gave her a kiss, pressed their foreheads together, and walked out to run the front of his empire, leaving her to take care of the back.

“You look like a goddess, Mrs. Maroni-to-be,”

her husband-to-be said from behind her, sending a thrill down her spine.

“It’s Dr. Maroni-to-be,”

he locked their gazes in the mirror, his hand holding hers as he slid something on her finger. Damn, that was smooth. Amara lifted her left hand, seeing the beautiful ring glint in the light. It was a gorgeous oval emerald, surrounded by a crown of diamonds, set in a beautiful platinum band. Dante pressed a kiss to her lobe, showering her with affection.

“There’s an engraving on the inside that says ‘my queen’, so you always remember, no matter where you are or where I am, you’re the beat to my heart.”

Amara felt her eyes water and blinked rapidly since her mascara...

“And your...

He pressed a kiss to the back of her head, his eyes locked with hers, showing he...

“Matches. But I already know I’m...

“And a very modest ...

He was flaunting her, claiming her, out in the open, and it felt glorious.

It was later that I discovered that Talia, Dante’s mother, had overheard the meeting.”